Milk Tea
by Sparklebuns
Summary: There are many different Ranchers in this world. Most are sweet, gentle folk who look to settle down and make the most of life. Not Lillian. She's been a pimple on the quaint mountain town of Bluebell since she moved in three years ago. Yet now, something has changed. All over a stupid little bet.
1. Chapter 1

So here we are! My first 'published' story! I hope that I do well and you guys like it. c:

I would really like some criticism, if you guys want to give any. I want to improve my writing, but I can only do so much on my own! Thank you in advance if you do happen to help me. 3

** R**

You could say my trouble started about three months ago. It wasn't anything big that happened, but it just snowballed out of control. She had just come in and ordered a drink.

"Do you _mind_?" Ash grey eyes glared at me from behind the tea cup. It wasn't very often that I had to help out in the café, and it wasn't very often that Lillian visited. It just happened to be my luck that both of these things happened to line up like some celestial 'Fuck you'. I quickly shifted my gaze from the black cup she was sipping out of to the wall. Honestly, it's not like I was actually looking at her. I was just staring out into space, trying to pick out my flower selections for the next day, when her voice rattled me from my thoughts. I bit back a sharp reply. It wasn't professional to argue with clients, no matter how ill-mannered or rude they were. It was bad for business. When that she-demon left, I don't think I've been so happy in my life. Or relieved, for that matter.

My patience tried for the day, I went ahead and closed up shop. It still took a little while to clean up the dishes and put away the leftovers for dinner, but I had enough time left to go and visit Ash. Locking up, I left for his house. The walk through town was quick. The square was mostly deserted at this time of the day, with people making their ways home to eat with their family or whatever they did. I spotted Georgia leaving but she didn't see me, so I didn't bother to wave or anything. She was Laney's friend anyway, and the few times I had talked to her had been with my blond cousin as a buffer. When I finally got to Ash's house the sky was turning orange as the sun set. I hopped the fence out back and made my way to the barn since I knew he would be there. As expected, there he was, sitting on an old stool and brushing one of the baby sheep of the season.

"Hey, Cam!" He called out when he saw me. I nodded and threw up my hand in reply. Putting down the brush and patting the sheep to go join it's mother, he grinned and jerked his thumb in the direction of another stool. I picked up the thing from its hiding place in the corner, where it was always at, and plopped down next to him. "So, how was the 'day off'?" He chuckled at his joke and I shot him a look. Normally I would have been preparing for the coming work week by getting all of my ribbons and paper in order- taking inventory. Howard and Laney had to go into the city today, though, and it was sort of unexpected. Something about Howard's ex-wife or something, I didn't really catch it. All I knew was that I had to run the place for the afternoon and all of my work would have to be crammed and rushed tomorrow. It wasn't going to be fun, especially since the first Cooking Contest of the year was going to be the day after that.

"Bad." I reached into my pocket and pulled a cigarette out from my case. A nasty habit, and Howard had pretty much said he would kick me out of he caught me, but I just couldn't seem to break myself of it. Thank the Goddess for close friends. As I lit it up and took my first puff, Ash put on one of his practiced frowns and shook his head.

"That bad of a day, huh?"

"I got a visit from Queen Harpy."

I could have laughed at Ash's face when I said that. Could have, but I didn't. His mouth rounded out into a perfect little 'o' and his eyes widened. Looks like he was just about as surprised as I had been when the bell chimed and she walked through the door. Of course, he wouldn't have to deal with the dread of seeing her sit down, the pain of her ordering, or the frustration of her staying there for almost thirty minutes while she glared a hole through him. It had been a _real_ fun time.

"W-what did she want?" With her it was always something bad. Always. So I understood his concern. In the last three years, everyone knew that. Even the people who lived in Konohana knew it and she never even saw the people from that trash hole.

"Milk Tea." My blond friend gave a sharp intake of breath- disbelief. It was alright, I had felt the same way at the time.

"You mean she didn't come in and rip your head off and lay eggs in your throat or something?! I find that hard to believe, Cam." I honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He just looked so damned earnest. After a moment I couldn't stop myself and smiled, letting out my wheezy version of a laugh.

From then we fell into usual patterns. Conversation turned into mostly his talking about his animals or something Cheryl, his kid sister, had done that day. Occasionally he would ask me questions or I would give little grunts to show I was listening, that kind of thing. I only said goodbye and parted ways two and half more cigarettes later, when a calf butted Ash and knocked him over. It was dark when I made my way back to the café, and I could see from the lights that Howard and Laney were back. I gave the two a wave when I got inside, but decided to skip dinner and the conversation and go straight to bed. Thoughts of cream skinned women clinging tight to me lulled me to sleep.

I awoke the next day tired and craving a smoke. Something told me it would be a bad day, like it always did. I rolled out of bed and went to shower before locking myself into my workshop. It would be a long and busy day, but I might be able to get all of my work done if nothing interrupted me. The moon was in the sky before I was done, and when I finally left my flower- filled tomb I was hungry and cranky and just wanted to go to sleep. I ignored Laney when she spoke and just went straight to the fridge, digging myself out something to eat. Cramming a hastily made sandwich into my mouth, I called it a day and retired to my room. Not all days can be very interesting, after all, no matter how much we want them to be.

Laney roused me awake the next morning. The sun was shining in my eyes, but she had an omelet waiting for me next to a cup of coffee, so I guess it was alright. Howard was already in a frenzy, baking and frying and sampling and then deciding what he had fixed wasn't good enough and starting over. Contest time was usually like this. Everyone who entered always wanted to prove how good the food was and make the very best they could, after all. Not to mention that Konohana had pretty much swept us under the rug the last three Contests in a row, so this meant a lot to everyone.

Before long I found myself carting bowls and pots up the mountain. Tradition stated that if you didn't enter yourself, you carried something or help set up the mountain top in preparation. I was loaded down with both Howard's and Laney's dishes but I didn't complain or anything. Ash was there and suffering with me, as always. He talked my head off until we reached the top; at that point we dropped our loads on the judging table and parted ways to set up the clearing. It wasn't a very strenuous task, but it was stressful. We were alongside the Konohana men and we never exactly saw eye to eye, even when just unfolding tables and chairs.

"So is it true?" I raised my head up from my task when I realized that whoever was talking, it was to me. It was that Konohana horse guy, Kana or something. I grimaced and shook my head.

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." I prepared myself for some type of smack talk, like 'that you guys are gunna lose four times' or some shit like that. The reply I got surprised me a little.

"I heard from Dirk that Rancher is entering this time. The really hateful one. Is it true?" I looked at him in confusion. He frowned and shook his head. "Guess that's a 'no' then…." He backed away and went off to go do something else. Puzzled, I looked around and quickly spotted Dirk. The postal carrier was speaking to a raptured audience of Ash and that doctor kid, flailing about like a madman or something as he spoke. I walked over and listened in.

"…. Swear it! I was getting done delivering mail in Bluebell, and when I was coming up, I passed her and she was carrying some food! Honest guys, I wouldn't lie about this!"

I didn't really buy it. Sure, Dirk was an alright guy and I didn't see any reason for him to not tell the truth, but it just seemed weird. After all, this would be the first time that Lillian had even _attended_ a Cooking Contest, let alone enter one. Just seemed very farfetched to me is all.

At some point Kana had wandered up next to me. He seemed to be skeptical about this too, but some flicker in his eyes betrayed that he believed and sucked into it as much as Ash was. A small gasp from the doctor and his nudging Ash on the arm and pointing also made me look. Guess that Dirk had been telling the truth.

There she was in all of her glory. Lillian Jones, the local woman who everyone seemed to know and nobody liked. Her eyes were concentrating on the ground, presumably to make sure she didn't trip with her food, and face was pinched up in a frown. Hair pulled back and under a bandana, her skirts and the folds of her shirt were clean, but showed evidence of the hard work she had done that morning. She placed a large wooden bowl on the Bluebell entry table and then went to sit down. One of the metal chairs that were away from everyone else, but close enough to see, she crossed her hands over her lap and glared at nothing in particular. I'm sure that everyone in the clearing was looking at her, watching her to see what she would do. I wouldn't know, though, because I was too busy staring like everyone else.

Eventually the tension broke and a few quiet mutterings of conversation started up. I hadn't even noticed how quiet it had been until Ash whispered into my ear that it was almost time and we went to sit down. "What do you think she made?" He hissed in my ear, but I couldn't answer because Pierre was moving through the crowd to the front with Rutger and Ina. The typical speech was given by the two mayors, as well as a little competitive talk. The Gourmet moved to the Konohana table and began to sample; one bite from each dish. He said his 'oooos' and his 'aaaaahs' like he had the last three times, and Ash sighed and I heard him mutter something about losing again.

Everything was still when he moved over to the Bluebell table. The wind was taken out of our sails when he made the same noises and exclamations as last time. He stepped up, about to announce Konohana the winner when Lillian stood up. The very purple fellow seemed to have overlooked a dish, though, and it was made known.

"You didn't try mine." Hands balled into fists, the look she was giving the Gourmet could have killed him if he wasn't careful. A look of mild panic showed up on his face, very flimsily concealed with a fake smile. He scuttled back to the table like a scolded child and looked over all of the dishes. Quickly, he shoved his fork into her bowl and scooped out a bunch of green veggies. He shoved them in his mouth, then his eyes widened before he chewed and swallowed. My first thought was 'she poisoned it', after a moment his nervous look faded and he gave a genuine smile that had to have hurt his face.

"It's spectacular! Like the Harvest Goddess made it herself! Bluebell wins! They win by a mile!" I could never had been more ready for that in all of my life. I managed to take my eyes off of Pierre, who had by now taken the bowl and as scarfing the entire thing down, and look at Lillian. She was just sitting there, arms crossed, with that bored, sour look that was always on her face. There was no happy smile or even pride there. It was like this meant nothing to her.

A heavy silence followed. After a few minutes Lillian collected her, now empty, bowl and left. No one else said a word after that, not until Rutger finally seemed to realize that Bluebell had won and began boasting to Ina. The woman looked furious, and she and all her villagers picked up their share of the mess and left in shame even before a lot of us could even grasp and let sink in what had just occurred and start to clean up ourselves.

"Cam, what happened up there?" Later in the barn Ash was still dumbfounded, his eyes wide and pure shock on his features. I couldn't answer him because I didn't know. I just sat there and twirled my cigarette between my fingers, pondering on the strange occurrence myself. Things like that didn't happen. Gourmets didn't take more than one bite at things like this- let alone eat the entire bowl. A girl no one knew or even liked didn't make dishes that turned cooking festivals around. Hell, girls like Lillian didn't even _enter_ cooking festivals. The fact as to why was an enigma in of itself, without all of that other stuff that only made it so much harder to explain.

I was broken from my train of thought when I heard the barn door open. I quickly stamped my smoke into the floor and covered the butt with my shoe. It was a good thing, too, since it was none other than Laney and Georgia that walked in. "Hey." The due approached, looking around and taking mind of the animals that were now sleeping wherever they had dropped. "Sorry to _intrude_, but we wanted to talk to you guys." I scoffed at the way Laney said 'intrude'. She was always trying to imply that I was gay, or that Ash was, and they we were dating or something.

"Yeah! About the Cooking Contest today and Lillian!" Georgia jumped in before we could say anything, and with more enthusiasm that needed. A nearby cow mooed in annoyance and did the cow equivalent of rolling over. The red haired girl jumped slightly when it did, and tried to shush her voice into a whisper. It didn't work, as it seems to never do with people who talk loud all the time, and she just sounded like she was hissing through her teeth. "We need 'tah get her to come to the next one! If she can do what she did today again, we'd be 'uh sure win!"

Ash frowned and shook his head. "Like _that_ would ever happen. We don't even know why she entered today!"

"I bet we can find a way! I mean, why would she have even tried if she didn't want too for some reason?" Georgia met his response with one of her own.

"Because who knows what that reason even is! She could be conducting some experiment to see which poison acts the slowest or something! Do you really want to be involved in that?"

"If we can't find a reason then we'll give her one! It never hurts to ask, does it? You never know until you try!"

"Oh, sure, you go ahead and do that. I bet you two can't find out or do anything. You're all talk and no game; I know how you two are. Can and I would have a better chance at it then you two ever could." The matter of fact tone Ash was using made Georgia's reddening cheeks flush all the brighter. Laney hadn't said much, but had her hands on her hips and was staring us down with all of the force she could muster.

Taking a deep breath, Georgia smiled, but it was one of those angry ones that told you hell was coming. "How about this? We'll make you two a bet. If either of you can convince her to come to a Cooking Contest, you win. If we do, we win. Sound fair?"

I shook my head at Ash, but he either ignored me or was too caught up in the moment. "What do we get if we win?"

"If you guys win we'll…. We'll do your work for a month… _and _we'll streak through the square during the day, and yell about how great you guys are. But if we win, you two have to do the same thing for us! Streaking and work and all!" Georgia looked proud of herself. Laney was going along with her…. Until she mentioned streaking. My cousin tried to get her attention to tell her that, no, she was not okay with that. It seemed she was having as much trouble as I was getting Ash's attention to tell him the exact same thing.

"It's a deal!" He stood and they shook hands on it. I sighed and rubbed my temples; I could feel a headache coming on and this would be a great time for a smoke. "I hope you ladies are ready to strip down, cause we aren't going to lose!"

This was the official start of my downfall.

** R**

I hope you guys liked it! I don't know why, but Cam has always seemed like he would smoke to me. I think it might be the vest and the hat or something.

If you guys spot anything I did wrong, tell me! I'm dyslexic, so I tend to 'eat' words and letters sometimes. I also tend to swap them around or add extra ones, so keep an eye on that, too. Using word does help a lot, but it's not perfect! Don't use my dyslexia as an excuse to hold back, though! It should be obvious in most places where I couldn't see what was wrong over just having bad grammar. I would really like you guys to give me honest reviews, and if anything confuses you I'll try my best to make it clearer!

As for the chapter itself, I like it overall. There are a few places that I think I rushed it some, but it was only because I wanted to hurry up and get all of this first chapter, introductory stuff over with, so I hope it's not so bad.

Next chapter we'll learn more about Lillian, as well as how Cam responds to this bet that's been thrust upon his head and what he plans to do about it. See you guys next time. 3


	2. Chapter 2

Hey there! I'm here with another chapter for you guys. c: It's a bit shorter than last time, but I think I ended it on a nice enough note. Anything else and I would have just felt like I was dragging it out and putting on more stuff than was needed just to add length. It wouldn't have been fun to write or to read.

Thank you guys who reviewed! I'm glad you like my not-so-nice Lillian and smoking Cam, so I hope you guys like this chapter! 3

** R**

Before we delve any deeper into the rabbit hole than we already have, there are some things you need to know.

My name is Cam. You probably already know this. I live in Bluebell, a small rural town in the mountains that's dedicated to raising animals. I live with my cousin and uncle, Laney and Howard, and run a small flower stand outside of their café. I have a best friend named Ash who talks too much, and he usually ends up talking for me. That's okay, though, because I usually can't seem to properly voice anything myself. But we're not here to learn about me, so let's move on to the topic at hand.

Lillian.

Lillian moved in three years ago. Around early April, I think. She had been the talk of the town since the November before that. It wasn't often that we got visitors in our sleepy little village, after all, and no one new had moved here since I had when I was eight. Rumors were spread ranging from the usual gossip, to the dark, to the stupid; the stupid mostly came from Ash and his vivid imagination. I never looked to learn any of the new bits or pieces of made up information, but I knew them all since I lived with Howard. Eventually time passed and one day Rutger, the mayor, was seen running from town hall and up the mountain. There was a certain energy that buzzed through the town and made everything seem alive with excitement. An hour later when he came back into town with a muddy, bruise covered girl it was like some great tension was relieved. I wasn't even as wrapped up in it and even I felt it. She went home to rest up, apparently she had crashed the day before at the mountaintop or something, but Rutger promised she would come the next day to introduce herself to everyone.

She didn't. The only person who saw her that next day was Jessica. Ash's mom had gone to give her a moving in gift of a cow and a chicken and to teach her some stuff about animal care. After all, apparently this girl was around my age and from the city, so what would she know about farming? Jessica reported that she had thanked her for animals but refused the help, and seemed very…. Crass. The older woman had shrugged it off and assumed that it was just where she was tired, as it was early and the girl looked to have a lot of cuts and scrapes from the day before.

No one saw hide or hair of this mysterious Lillian until she had lived there for at least a week and a half. It was reported that she would put stuff in the shipping bin that she must have collected or gathered herself, but no one saw her. Even Rutger, who would deliver the money made each morning, was forced to put her cut in the mailbox when she didn't open the door. It raised a bit of fuss in town. Some people worried, thinking that maybe a few of the darker tales were true and she was hurting oh we should help her somehow. Others were offended and saw it as rude, or that she thought she was better because she was from the big city. I never really had an opinion on the matter. When she finally showed her face, it was for shopping. Apparently she was running low on chicken feed and fodder, so she had come to buy some more. She ended up raising quite the ruckus in Jessica's feed store, or so I was told, and having to be kicked out. Ash told me later that while he hadn't seen the skirmish since he was outside, he had saw her go in and somehow he knew from that look on her face it would end in trouble.

It didn't get any better from there. Lillian would come into town sporadically, and it was only to buy the things she needed or wanted; I was told that the only reason Jessica would still fool with her business was because she didn't want any of the animals there to starve or something. Still the townsfolk were giving her some sort of chance, since she hadn't really met any of them. The stories did affect them. No longer did most regard her with warm smiles and open arms like when she first moved in, but instead with a sort of suspicion that was only held back by pure curiosity for this stranger. That did change, though. Some unknown catalyst pushed and somehow over time she became a person to avoid, and maybe even fear. No one tried anymore. Everyone just went about their days and tried to ignore the smudge on our way of living.

This is just what I was told. All of my information is second hand at best and that's never the most reliable.

Now back to the entire reason I'm here telling you all this: The Bet.

I was pissed. There was no way I was running anywhere naked, or doing any work that wasn't my own. The first thing I did after the 'deal' was struck was excuse myself and go home. I went to bed with so many thoughts in my head it took me a long time to finally sleep. The only thing that comforted me was that there was no way Laney or Georgia or even the Harvest Goddess herself could get Lillian to attend anything. The defeat was already there. This would end in a stalemate and eventually everyone would move on and forget. There was still that little 'what if' that tormented me in the back of my mind.

I was even more exhausted the next day that I normally was. My morning moved by in some blur. I know I showered and somehow managed to get dressed and outside to my stand, but I wasn't really 'aware' until sometime after One. I stared down at the pastel pink flower in my hands and the looked at the bouquet I had been making. It was the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life. Sighing, I scrapped the entire thing and rubbed my eyes. I couldn't not think about how tired I was, or what had happened yesterday, and that little voice that kept repeating the same thing over and over. I closed up shop early and laid back down. I stayed there for almost two days and told everyone I was sick, even though I wasn't. Ash came by at some point and dropped some soup off for me and I asked me if I was mad at him. I told him I wasn't even though I was. I only left my room for basic needs and to sneak out back to smoke.

When I finally got out of bed it was almost midday. Laney greeted me as she usually did, but she didn't have the same sort of obnoxiously chipper spunk she normally did.

"What's up with you?" I sniffed my non-running nose for appearances. A large glass of milk and an apple fritter sat in front of me, but I wasn't inclined to eat them until I found out what her deal was.

"Well…." She sighed and dropped a dish rag onto the counter, where she was standing. I wasn't really all that interested in what she had to say, but it was the polite thing to do when it looked like family was troubled. Her reluctance wasn't normal. "You have to promise not to tell Georgia or Ash I told you…" I grunted and shrugged. I promised nothing, but I guess it was good enough for her. "Yesterday me and Georgia went out to see Lillian; take her a nice pie I worked my butt off making. But when we went to visit, she said to leave her alone and she didn't want our nasty food! Can you believe that?!" The bright blond slumped, a frown on her face. This seemed to appease that small voice, if only for a minute, and it shut up. I didn't say anything to Laney; I just swallowed my food, slurped down my coffee and went out the door.

I hadn't run my shop for a while now. At least it felt that way. I made hardly any money from the thing anyway, so I guess it's not like it mattered, but at least it gave me something to do other than lay around in bed. It was a little late, but I still set out some seeds to sell and plucked a few flowers from my cart. No one was in sight and the heat wore down on me. Looks like it had warmed up considerably since I was last out. I turned and checked on my flowers. Most of them were fine, but a few looked to be wilting. Probably dried out, if it had been this hot yesterday and the day before. I picked up my watering can and gave them all a good drink. I took my time, it's not like anyone would show up and want anything anyway.

I was wrong.

I could have jumped out of my skin when I turned around. There she was, the battle-ax herself. Lillian. She had her head turned to the side, just ever so slightly, and it looked like she was studying me. Her face was drawn up in her normal frown, with her eyes narrowed and eyebrows knotted together in a sharp stare. I had never seen her amazingly close up, not even the other day at the café, but from this close I could see how her nose and lips were pressed thin and pinched up, as if she had smelled something bad. I could do nothing but look at her as hard as she was looking at me for a long time. No words came to mind, not even the practiced and usual 'how can I help you?' that had become almost second nature to me over the years. Eventually she gritted her teeth and made a noise of disgust, shifting so that she was looking down her nose at me.

"_Well?_" She practically barked at me.

"I….. uh…." I blinked and tried to snap myself out of it. Two sightings in the same week was almost unheard of, but this made three. This was mildly mind-blowing. Her glare grew angrier with each passing second until I finally spoke. "How can… I help you?" A little lame at the end, but how was I supposed to know what she wanted? It's not like she had ever come to visit my shop before.

"Finally I get some service." The way she snarled her words made me feel small. Like a child. She reached up and pushed some of her brown hair behind her ear, and in that movement I noticed the plain woven basket hanging from the crook of her elbow. "I want flower seeds." Leaning down, she gave my current inventory a quick look over. I noticed her eyes stray from them and over to the cut flowers. Her eyes settled on a red tulip, but then she quickly looked back over at the seeds. "I want…. three of _these_" her finger pressed tightly on a pack of Gerberas "and two of _these_." Pink roses. Her selections made, I quickly plucked the items from my cart behind me and tallied up the price. She rolled her eyes at the amount, but still dropped the coins on my table.

Just as she was turning to leave, that little voice started up again.

"Wait." When she turned back about to face me, I could see confusion in her eyes before they closed me out and she just looked hateful again. I faltered, trying to think of something to say. Why had I turned her back around? I didn't have anything to tell her or give… I quickly picked up the red tulip she had been looking at and offered it to her. Her eyes looked suspiciously at the flower. "Take it." I spat out, voice shaking. I half expected her to slap it out of my hand, stomp it, and fling it in my face or something. A few tense seconds passed between us. Finally, she reached out and plucked the flower from my fingers. Her hand brushed mine for a moment, and I flinched back. She didn't say anything else, no 'thank you' or even an insult. She just tucked the flower in her pocket and left.

** R**

Red Tulips mean True Love. At least that's what I know about it. I know that there are a lot of different flower meanings and that probably doesn't even scratch the surface, but at least I tried. xD

Again, if you see anything out of place, make sure and tell me! I know this one was shorter than the last, but I have a lot planned for the next chapter to make up for it. Hope you guys look for it in the next few days! 8D I have just a little bit longer before my new semester at college starts, but I plan on getting as much done for you guys as I can before I have to go back and slow down updates and stuff for classes. c:

Next time Cam gets an unexpected visitor and Ash is being suspicious. :3


End file.
